This marks recipe 350 on buenprovecho.me. At this point I have decided to end the blog, but it will remain accessible to my many followers. Thanks for following along all these years. Hopefully you’ve found a few that you enjoyed…

These were quite awesome, especially since we both love French Onion Soup! Fairly easy to make as well. This recipe serves four as indicated, but since I only wanted to do TWO chops, I halved all of the ingredients except the olive oil. I didn’t want the onions to BURN! As you can see by the photo, I served it with fresh roasted asparagus, adding some Parmesan cheese flakes a few minutes before they were done in the oven.

FRENCH ONION PORK CHOPS

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 large sweet onions, sliced

7-8 fresh thyme sprigs (plus additional for garnish, if desired)

1 teaspoon salt (plus additional for the pork chops)

½ teaspoon pepper (plus additional for the pork chops)

1 tablespoon butter

3/4 cup beef stock (I use low-sodium)

¼ cup dry red wine

4 boneless pork chops (seasoned with salt and pepper)

4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese

2 or 3 Baby Portobello mushrooms sliced

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

-In a large, oven proof skillet over medium heat, caramelize the onions in the olive oil along with the thyme sprigs (about 15 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add the beef broth, butter, salt and pepper. Five minutes before the onions are caramelized, add mushrooms.

-Simmer to reduce the broth (about 5 minutes).

-Remove the caramelized onions to a bowl and keep warm, Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.

-Pat the chops with a paper towel to dry. Spread Dijon mustard on both sides of the chops and season each with salt and pepper to taste.

-Return the skillet to medium/high heat and brown the pork chops on both sides (approximately 3 minutes per side). Remove chops to a plate.

Just another slow cooker recipe…LOL. This one tastes incredible AND its Keto friendly as part of my new JOURNEY to eat healthier this year. As always I was touring around Pinterest and came across this one by Kasey Trenum. It was so great I forgot to photograph it. It was on Kasey’s Pinterest page.

The holidays are always full of social events. What would it be without a cheese ball rolled in crunchy walnuts? Usually I make mine with Imperial Cheddar from Canada, some softened blue cheese and a package of Philly. This year, something a little different… did I mention it is Keto friendly, if you dip bacon rinds?

Ropa vieja (Spanish for “old clothes”) is one of the national dishes of Cuba, but is also popular in other areas of the Caribbean such as Puerto Rico and Panama. It consists of shredded or pulled stewed beef with vegetables. This was a dish we had in Havana in 2014. The beauty is that it is done in a slow cooker.

You can omit the olives, but trust me on this one. Serve with your favorite rice or use it with fresh tortillas.

Add the flank steak and flip it around in the sauce so it gets coated. Add the bell pepper, onion, olives and garlic cloves, mix those items together to combine on top of the meat.

Cover and cook on low for 9 hours on LOW without opening the lid during the cooking time. Shred the meat with 2 forks right in the slow cooker.

If you have been following me you know that our slow cooker cooks faster for some unknown reason. When I looked up cooking on HIGH (because I was short of time) it suggested 5 hours as the equivalent. Guess what? It was done in a little over 2.5 hours using an arrachera of 1.3 kilos.

LESSON—-dont let it cook while you are away at work unless you know your cooker very well. Keep checking for doneness.

1 Whole Head of Cauliflower (cut into small florets)I bought a one lb. bag of florets

1 1/2 cups Vegetable Broth

1 teaspoon freshly ground Pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano

1/4 cup cream cheese

Salt to taste

Olive Oil and cooked bacon (4 strips) for topping

Instructions

In a Dutch oven or soup pot, heat butter and add onions and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until the onions are soft.

Add carrots, cauliflower, vegetable broth, pepper, oregano and salt to the pot. Bring this to a boil, and slow the heat down to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes or so till the cauliflower is tender.

Switch off the flame and using a blender, blend the soup partly in the soup pot. If you don’t have a hand blender, pour half the soup into a blender and pulse a few tips till creamy.

Switch the flame back on and add a cup of water or broth along with the cream cheese. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and switch off the flame. Feel free to thin the soup further if you like with some more broth or milk. Top with olive oil and bacon and serve hot.

Its not too late to do your Nw Years Eve shopping is it? Your guests would love these coconut curry mussels with fresh baguettes for dipping into the sauce. If you need a veggie dish, go for the steamed broccoli…

STEAMED MUSSELS IN A COCONUT CURRY BROTH

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 pounds mussels (I prefer Prince Edward Island mussels)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 sweet onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons red curry paste

1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk (lite version is fine too – just won’t be as rich)

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken (or seafood) stock

2 green onions, sliced

baguettes or bread for serving (or fries!)

DIRECTIONS:

Keep the mussels refrigerated until you’re ready to use. Once ready, place them in a large bowl of ice cold water. Scrub the outsides of the mussels and remove the string (or “beard”) by using a towel or paper towel to pull it out. Discard any mussels that have opened already. Keep the mussels in the ice water.

Better still, buy the frozen ones which are already cleaned..just add them in where required in the recipe.

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat and add the butter and olive oil. Once it’s melted, stir in the onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, until slightly softened. Stir in the curry paste and continue to stir until it’s distributed throughout the entire pan of onions. Cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and stock, stirring until it’s smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring continuously. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the mussels and toss. Cover the skillet and cook just until the mussels open, about 5 to 6 minutes. Garnish with the sliced green onions. Stir the mussels well so the broth makes it into the shells. Serve immediately with baguettes or thin fries.

Leftover ham from Christmas dinner? No ham? Buy some… this recipe really was good on crackers, etc. Try it Mikey…you’ll like it!(Who remembers that phrase?) Ignore the Keto reference, it really tastes good!

EASY DEVILED HAM SALAD – LOW CARB & KETO

Author: Mellissa Sevigny Yield: 5 servings

INGREDIENTS

For the salad:

2 cups chopped cooked ham

1/4 cup chopped dill pickles

3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbsp chopped onion

1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic

For the dressing:

1/2 cup sugar free mayonnaise (you decide, I used Hellamns Organic…)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp Sriracha (or other chili sauce)

1 tsp fresh lime juice

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the salad:

Combine the salad ingredients into a food processor or magic bullet and pulse until a coarse, crumbly mixture is formed – don’t over blend into mush.

To make the dressing:

Combine the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.

Spoon the ham mixture into the dressing mixture and mix until the dressing is fully incorporated into the salad.

Serve chilled on low carb crackers, celery, romaine, or another low carb base of your choice! It was great with bacon rinds!

Ok…its a little chilly out there, depending on where you live. Actually it’s chilly in Mexico where the temperature last night dropped to 13 C. Forget Christmas…LOL. It’s chicken soup time! Dig in (to the soup, NOT the snowbanks).

Turmeric and ginger are excellent additions healthwise BTW.

INGREDIENTS

8 bone-in chicken thighs , skin removed

12 cups cold water

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro stems or fresh parsley stems

2 shallots , quartered

2 carrots , coarsely chopped

2 large cloves garlic , smashed

1 piece (1 inch) fresh turmeric (unpeeled), thinly sliced

1 piece (1/2 inch) fresh ginger (unpeeled), thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt (approx.)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves or fresh parsley leaves

OPTIONAL – 1 liter of Campbell’s Chicken Broth

METHOD

In Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine chicken, water and vinegar; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; simmer for 30 minutes, skimming and discarding froth.

No photo for this one as it is all blended together in a jar and then refrigerated. Great for using during the upcoming holidays…

Easy Cranberry Chutney

From inthekitchenwithkath.com

(Adapted from a recipe in Yumana’s Table by Yumana Devi)

Makes about 3 cups, and doubles easily if you’re serving a crowd.

1 (12-ounce) bag of cranberries

2 large apples

2 large oranges or limes

1 cup pure maple syrup (I used ½ cup)

Zest the oranges.

Wash and drain the cranberries and put them in a pot. (My 3 quart pot is the perfect size.)

Peel, core, and chop the apples, and add them to the pot.

Juice the oranges. Add the juice and the orange zest to the pot.

Add the maple syrup.

Bring the chutney to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce heat to medium. Cook, uncovered, for about 30 – 45 minutes, until the cranberries have popped, the apples have cooked down, and the chutney has thickened a bit. Stir it occasionally while it’s cooking.

Cool and transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve OR put it in an airtight jar, ready for use. Would be great over cream cheese as an appetizer or with roast beef…not just turkey!